11 Unforgivable Sins of Social Media: A Maverick's Rant
The toxic and unsustainable side of social media
When I hopped onto the Facebook bandwagon in November 2008—a whole four years after its inception—I had no clue what I was diving into. Up until then, my social media experience was limited to LinkedIn, which, back in the day, was less about socializing and more about flaunting an online resume.
Social media planted its roots in 2003, marking the year both LinkedIn and MySpace emerged onto the scene. Boldly, without a single drop of regret in my voice: social media might just be the biggest trainwreck to hit society. What started as a playground for harmless vanity—comparing ourselves to our high school rivals, creeping on ex-partners, or cringing at Aunt Veronica's digital faux pas—has morphed into a colossal time-suck. It's become a breeding ground for mind-numbing scrolling, rampant censorship, and dizzying disinformation campaigns. And that's just for the everyday user.
For entrepreneurs, the scenario is even more grim. Caught in a whirlwind of frustration over invisible engagement, envy of the seemingly perfect lives of online "success" stories, and utterly drained from the constant battle to churn out content in hopes that someone, somewhere, recognizes your worth and engages with your business.
The investment of time, energy, and mental well-being into social media by society is profoundly exhausting, unequivocally unsustainable, and toxically pervasive.
Having said all of that, I almost feel as if giving you 11 things I despise about social media is going to be overkill. It feels a little like I've already unloaded, but I’ve actually got plenty more to say on this topic.
It’s addictive. People spend far too much time scrolling through social media. Imagine what our children's spines will look like in 20 years from all that hunching over. Imagine how much dumber we will be as a society in just 5 years. We’re losing the ability to critically think. We’re constantly stuck with our phones in our faces. My advice? Track your daily average time spent on apps and then work to reduce that average week over week. Nobody needs to spend 4 hours a day on social media. NOBODY. When did we decide that spending hours scrolling mindlessly is the best way for us to spend our days?
It makes us lonely. People are using social media to replace real relationships. We’re no longer going out and meeting people face to face, which means we have far fewer human interactions. Human touch is important because it’s the primary language of compassion. Without touch, we don’t give or receive as much compassion as we need to survive. “To touch can be to give life,” said Michelangelo, and he was absolutely right. When did we decide that we can survive on internet relationships through our devices?
It’s filled with clickbait. How many headlines do we see on social media that are absolutely, positively false or aren’t even related to the story being shared? Almost 30% of all headlines on social media are clickbait, which means it’s a waste of our time, a waste of our brains' capabilities, and a rampant way to spread rumors because so many people are too lazy to even read beyond the headline. When did we agree that we no longer are entitled to the truth?
Censorship. In my opinion, Twitter (X) is the only platform where free speech seems to be an actual priority. I, for one, am tired of being worried that what I post on Facebook or Instagram will get me in trouble. When did we decide that the First Amendment no longer applies to everyone?
Pedophilia on Instagram. The Morning Wire recently did a story on paid accounts on Instagram that are little more than a means for grown men to participate in pedophilia. And what’s crazy is so many people would rather deny and debate that this is an actual problem than stand up and fight against it. I spend almost zero time on Instagram because I don’t want to give my time or attention to a platform that works so hard to protect people who are taking advantage of and/or abusing our most precious resource: Our children. Remember that the next time you're giving your time, money, and attention to this platform. When did we decide that it’s okay to put our children on display for pedos across the globe?
Facebook is filled with negativity. Facebook is no longer about connecting with old friends and making new ones; it’s about telling, judging, shaming, and bullying. Facebook is filled with “friends” telling you how to live your life through their values, morals, and ideals. Everything from when to wake up, how to raise your kids, and how to run a business. Very rarely do people post on concepts or ideas about how they have been successful; they spend far more time telling people what they are doing wrong. It’s beyond toxic, and far too many people depend on this platform for building a business. When did we lose our sense of joy and fulfillment?
LinkedIn is no longer about building a career network. LinkedIn's become a big spot for the whole Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) thing. Just to be clear, I'm all about hiring people fairly—and that means everyone gets a fair shot. But it feels like things have tipped a bit too much one way, where it's not just about finding the best person for the job anymore. It's like there's a special spotlight on ticking the DEI box first. When did checking a box become more important than making the best possible hire for an organization?
Cold Pitch Sales DMs. This is the lazy man’s way of selling; it’s completely transactional, and I have to wonder if there was a time when this practice actually netted results. Somewhere, someone is teaching people that cold pitching is a viable approach to sales, and I am here to tell you IT IS NOT. I don’t know a single person who has ever made an actual sale this way. This happens so often on Facebook and LinkedIn that I actually don’t even check my InMail on LinkedIn anymore. 97% of the messages I receive are from people that I don’t know trying to sell me something that I don’t need or want. When did building meaningful relationships drop out of the equation?
Dancing like Elaine from Seinfeld at a rave on TikTok and Instagram for the likes. Doing some ridiculous dance or following an even more ridiculous trend just for the likes is the absolute worst way to spend your time. Not all attention is good, and attention doesn’t equal followers or sales. If your brand isn’t quirky, lighthearted, or silly, then some of the trends aren’t going to make sense. Maybe I’m getting old, but I am absolutely not going to shake my money maker on social media just for the likes. No matter how good my money maker looks when it shakes. Hard pass for me. When did following a trend, no matter how ridiculous, become the answer to all of our marketing problems?
Being controversial is a strategy. I’ll be honest, this might be the thing I despise most about social media: people being controversial just for the sake of being controversial. Making fun of others, saying things they don’t really believe in their hearts. Being mean-spirited, a bully, or even acting like a tough guy just because you want to build a persona. If you are truly a tough guy or bully, then by all means—pull that trigger on social media as well, because it’s authentic. But if you’re this soft-spoken person who hangs back in the cut in real life, then why bother pretending to be a bully online? It’s confusing as hell to anyone who actually knows you. And maybe someone will buy from you because they align with your bullish behavior, but once they realize you aren’t actually that way, they are unlikely to ever buy from you again. When did we replace authenticity with a strategy to get more likes?
It’s filled with generalized negativity. “Anyone who dresses up for St. Patrick's Day is a loser.” “If you’re expressing gratitude by listing things you are grateful for, you’re doing it wrong.” When did we lose the ability to just let people live their lives? When did it become so hard to withhold our negative thoughts when someone else has a differing opinion? When did our need to be right, better than, and important outweigh the need to be kind?
Apparently, we decided all of this in 2003.
xoxo
Julie
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